In a conversation with reporters, Corker responded to an NBC News report that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had to be talked out of resigning after disagreements with President Trump. Corker, who as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has worked extensively with Tillerson, said he wouldn't disclose sensitive conversations that the two might have had.

But then he launched into a pretty stunning bit of commentary on the Trump administration. He basically suggested that there would be “chaos” if not for the likes of Tillerson and the two generals serving as top officials.

Here's the full context of Corker's remarks (emphasis added):

CORKER: I don’t talk about private conversations with anyone. Inappropriately I don’t, anyway. I think Secretary Tillerson, [Defense] Secretary [Jim] Mattis and [White House] Chief of Staff [John] Kelly are those people that help separate our country from chaos, and I support them very much. And I don't know what he may have said after the briefing. I watch from — I mean, look, I see what's happening here. I deal with people throughout the administration, and [it] from my perspective is an incredibly frustrating place where, as I watch, okay — and I can watch very closely on many occasions — I mean, you know, he ends up not being supported in the way that I would hope a secretary of state would be supported. And that’s just from my vantage point. But I've never — you know, I have no knowledge of the comments or anything else. I think he's in a very trying situation, trying to solve many of the world's problems a lot of times without the kind of support and help that I'd like to see him have.

Q: Did he ever think about resigning at any point?

CORKER: I can’t get into that.

Q: When you say that Tillerson, Mattis and Kelly are separating this country from chaos, do you mean from the president’s chaos?

CORKER: Well, it’s just they act in a very — they work very well together to make sure that the policies we put forth around the world are sound and coherent. There are other people within the administration, in my belief, that don’t. Okay? I’m sorry. You know, I hope they stay because they’re valuable to the national security of our nation, they’re valuable to us putting forth good policies, they’re very valuable as it relates to our citizens feeling safe and secure, and I hope he’s here for a very long time.

He's checking out so he can say out loud what everyone else is whispering.